Sunday evening February 7

Preparation

Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.O Lord, make haste to help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:to you be praise and glory for ever.As darkness falls you renew your promiseto reveal among us the light of your presence.By the light of Christ, your living Word,dispel the darkness of our heartsthat we may walk as children of lightand sing your praise throughout the world.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit:Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

All Thanks to the Lamb, Who Gives Us to Meet

Charles Wesley

All thanks to the Lamb, who gives us to meet!His love we proclaim, his praises repeat;We own him our Jesus, continually nearTo pardon and bless us and perfect us here.

In him we have peace, in him we have power,Preserved by his grace throughout the dark hour,In all our temptation he keeps us to proveHis utmost salvation, his fullness of love.

Through pride and desire unhurt we have gone,Through water and fire in him we went on;The world and the devil through him we overcame,Our Savior from evil, forever the same.

When we would have spurned his mercy and grace,To Egypt returned, and fled from his face,He hindered our flying (His goodness to show),And stopped us by crying, “Will ye also go?”

O what shall we do our Savior to love?To make us anew, come, Lord, from above.The fruit of thy passion, thy holiness give,Give us the salvation of all that believe.

Pronounce the glad word, and bid us be free!Ah! Hast thou not, Lord, a blessing for me?The peace thou hast given this moment impart,And open thy heaven of love in my heart.

Come, Jesus, and loose the stammerer’s tongue,And teach even us the spiritual song;Let us without ceasing give thanks for thy grace,And glory, and blessing, and honor, and praise.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of youI desire to hate and forsake all sinsby which I have ever displeased you;and I resolve by the help of your graceto commit them no more;and to avoid all opportunities of sin.Help me to do this,through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,and nourish us with his blessing;the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;the Lord accept our prayers,and absolve us from our offenses,for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 89:1-18

Refrain:Your throne is built on righteousness and justice.

I will sing of the Lord’s loyal love forever. I will proclaim your faithfulness with my own mouth from one generation to the next.That’s why I say, “Your loyal love is rightly built—forever! You establish your faithfulness in heaven.”You said, “I made a covenant with my chosen one; I promised my servant David: ‘I will establish your offspring forever; I will build up your throne from one generation to the next.’”

Heaven thanks you for your wondrous acts, Lord— for your faithfulness too— in the assembly of the holy ones.Is there any in the sky who could compare to the Lord? Who among the gods is equal to the Lord?God is respected in the council of the holy ones; God is awesome and revered more than all those around him.Who is like you, Lord God of heavenly forces? Mighty Lord, your faithfulness surrounds you!You rule over the surging sea: When its waves rise up, it’s you who makes them still.It’s you who crushed Rahab like a dead body; you scattered your enemies with your strong arm.Heaven is yours! The earth too! The world and all that fills it— you made all of it! North and south—you created them! The mountains Tabor and Hermon shout praises to your name.You have a powerful arm; your hand is strong; your strong hand is raised high!Your throne is built on righteousness and justice; loyal love and faithfulness stand in front of you.

The people who know the celebratory shout are truly happy! They walk in the light of your presence, Lord!They rejoice in your name all day long and are uplifted by your righteousness because you are the splendor of their strength.By your favor you make us strong because our shield is the Lord’s own; our king belongs to the holy one of Israel!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Your throne is built on righteousness and justice.

Psalm prayer

As we sing of your love, O Lord,anoint us with the Spirit’s seal,that we may praise your faithfulnessand proclaim your truth from age to age;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingExodus 3:1-6

Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro, Midian’s priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God’s mountain called Horeb. The Lord’s messenger appeared to him in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was in flames, but it didn’t burn up. Then Moses said to himself, Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t burning up.

When the Lord saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

Moses said, “I’m here.”

Then the Lord said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” He continued, “I am the God of your father, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingJohn 12:27-36

“Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (He said this to show how he was going to die.)

The crowd responded, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Human One must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?”

Jesus replied, “The light is with you for only a little while. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. As long as you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light.” After Jesus said these things, he went away and hid from them.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain: You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoredbecause the mighty one has done great things for me.Holy is his name.He shows mercy to everyone,from one generation to the next,who honors him as God.He has shown strength with his arm.He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.He has pulled the powerful down from their thronesand lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty-handed.He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,remembering his mercy, just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.

Brief silence

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.Intercessions are offeredfor peacefor individuals and their needs

Response

Father, by your SpiritBring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Father,whose Son was revealed in majestybefore he suffered death upon the cross:give us grace to perceive his glory,that we may be strengthened to suffer with himand be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,and the love of God,and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,be with us all evermore.Amen.